Open-air earbuds and methods for making the same

Abstract

Open-air earbuds and methods for making the same are disclosed. The earbud has a neck, which is open to the ambient environment in order to improve bass response. In order to prevent debris from entering the interior of the earbud, a filter is incorporated into the neck.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An earbud comprising:
 a housing defining an interior volume; 
 a filter; and 
 a cable extending from within the interior volume, through the filter, and into an ambient environment, wherein:
 the filter comprises at least one through-hole that acoustically couples the internal volume and the ambient environment; 
 the cable extends through an opening defined by an inner diameter of the filter; and 
 the inner diameter of the filter is equal to an outer diameter of the cable to prevent a gap between the inner diameter of the filter and the outer diameter of the cable. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the housing comprises a first housing member and a hollow neck member; 
 the internal volume extends from the first housing member into the hollow neck member; and 
 the filter is secured within the hollow neck member. 
 
     
     
       3. The earbud of  claim 2 , wherein an outer diameter of the filter is equal to an inner diameter of the hollow neck member to prevent a gap between the outer diameter of the filter and the inner diameter of the hollow neck member. 
     
     
       4. The earbud of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the earbud further comprises a cable engagement member; 
 the cable extends through an opening in the cable engagement member; 
 the opening is defined by an inner surface of the cable engagement member; and 
 the filter covers an air gap between at least a part of an outer surface of the cable engagement member and an inner surface of the hollow neck member. 
 
     
     
       5. The earbud of  claim 4 , wherein a center axis of the cable engagement member is offset from a center axis of the hollow neck member. 
     
     
       6. The earbud of  claim 4 , wherein a center axis of the cable engagement member is aligned with a center axis of the hollow neck member. 
     
     
       7. The earbud of  claim 1 , further comprising circuitry within the interior volume, wherein one end of the cable is coupled to the circuitry. 
     
     
       8. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the filter comprises a plurality of through-holes that acoustically couple the internal volume and the ambient environment. 
     
     
       9. A method for assembling an earbud, comprising:
 providing a housing with an interior volume; 
 incorporating a filter into the housing; and 
 routing a cable from within the interior volume, through the filter, and into an ambient environment, wherein:
 the incorporated filter comprises at least one through-hole that acoustically couples the internal volume and the ambient environment; and 
 the at least one through-hole of the filter prevents debris from entering the internal volume from the ambient environment. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the housing comprises a non-occluding member and a neck member; and 
 the at least one through-hole of the filter is configured to prevent debris from the ambient environment from entering the interior volume. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising coupling to the neck member a neck subassembly comprising a cable engagement member positioned within a sleeve, wherein the filter covers an air gap between at least a part of the cable engagement member and the sleeve. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the routing further comprises routing the cable through an opening in the cable engagement member. 
     
     
       13. An earbud comprising:
 a housing defining an interior volume; 
 a filter; 
 a cable extending from within the interior volume, through the filter, and into an ambient environment; 
 a neck subassembly defining a sleeve volume that is open to the ambient environment, wherein the neck subassembly is coupled to the housing; and 
 a cable stabilization region positioned within the internal volume and operative to pass the cable through an opening defined by an inner diameter of the cable stabilization region, wherein the filter is secured to the housing within the internal volume, wherein the filter acoustically couples the internal volume and the sleeve volume, and wherein at least a portion of the filter covers an air gap between at least a part of the cable stabilization region and the housing. 
 
     
     
       14. The earbud of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the neck subassembly comprises an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve; 
 the inner sleeve is secured to an inner surface of the housing; and 
 the outer sleeve is coupled to the inner sleeve and a portion of the housing. 
 
     
     
       15. The earbud of  claim 14 , wherein the filter comprises:
 the cable stabilization region defined by a hollow cylinder having a height, a base, an inner diameter, and an outer diameter; 
 an acoustic coupling region integrated with the base of the cable stabilization region and extending from the base; and 
 a sleeve engagement region integrated with the acoustic coupling region. 
 
     
     
       16. The earbud of  claim 15 , wherein the acoustic coupling region extends radially a predetermined distance from the base at a predetermined angle of declination with respect to a plane perpendicular to a center axis of the filter and parallel to the base. 
     
     
       17. The earbud of  claim 16 , wherein the sleeve engagement region is defined by a ring having a height, an inner diameter, and an outer diameter. 
     
     
       18. The earbud of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the housing comprises a first housing member and a hollow neck member; 
 the internal volume of the housing extends from the first housing member into the hollow neck member; 
 the filter is secured within the hollow neck member; 
 the inner sleeve is secured to an inner surface of the hollow neck member; and 
 the outer sleeve is coupled to the inner sleeve and a portion of the hollow neck member. 
 
     
     
       19. The earbud of  claim 18 , wherein:
 the filter comprises a plurality of through-holes that acoustically couple the internal volume and the sleeve volume; and 
 the acoustic coupling region comprises the plurality of through-holes. 
 
     
     
       20. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one through-hole both acoustically couples the internal volume and the ambient environment as well as prevents debris from entering the internal volume from the ambient environment. 
     
     
       21. The earbud of  claim 13 , wherein the inner diameter of the cable stabilization region is equal to an outer diameter of the cable to prevent a gap between the inner diameter of the cable stabilization region and the outer diameter of the cable. 
     
     
       22. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the filter is constructed from at least one of plastic, synthetic fibers, and natural fibers. 
     
     
       23. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the filter comprises stainless steel. 
     
     
       24. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the filter comprises a frusto-conical shape. 
     
     
       25. An earbud comprising:
 a housing defining an interior volume; 
 a filter; and 
 a cable extending from within the interior volume, through the filter, and into an ambient environment, wherein:
 the filter comprises at least one through-hole that acoustically couples the internal volume and the ambient environment; and 
 the filter comprises an acoustic mesh. 
 
 
     
     
       26. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the filter is configured to prevent debris from the ambient environment from entering the interior volume. 
     
     
       27. The earbud of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one through-hole comprises a diameter of 0.75 microns.